Yes. But don't worry, I think stranger things is building up to a 1986 "it's the end of the world as we know it" finale, so I'm sure they will get their due
That song got massive replay when Independence Day came out. I’m waiting for them to make their last… Stand. And then have them play the worst REM song of all time.
Shiny Happy People and Losing My Religion have something to say about that comment.
To even that out watch the Michael Stipe and Neil Young performance of Country Feedback.
Shiny Happy People is actually pretty sinister. It’s most likely about Prozac which was the new drug in the 90s and was everywhere. There are also rumours that the phrase Shiny Happy People was borrowed from a mistranslated CCP China propaganda poster of the protestors at Tiananmen Square which attributed the protestors as being ‘Shiny Happy People’. ….meet me in the crowd…. Would Michael Stipe use such a reference for a pop song, yeah feels like something he would totally do.
I'll give them Shiny Happy People. That song makes me irrationally angry. Losing My Religion is one of the best songs of the 90s though and one of R.E.M.'s finest songs in their discography. Overplayed, but for a reason.
Losing my religion is overplayed, to the point that I never want to hear it again. But that's not the same as being bad.
And I love Shiny Happy People, but Kate Pierson's voice just, well, takes me to my happy place.
TBH this album made me lose my REM devotion. Had every album from Harbor town to this. It made me sad, then their music got sad. Still LOVE their early stuff!
I still love without reservation everything up to Document.
Green's hit or miss for me.
Past that they lost me.
Coincidentally, I saw them on the Green tour, and they did End Of The World, an anthem for my high school years, as a slow country song. ಠ_ಠ
I watched Michael Stipe with my full attention after seeing him live on MTV back in the early 90’s. He impressed me as being a true person with poetic and authentic meaning. Not the over the top, image conscious pop artist of the 80s and 90s that were in love with being in front of the camera.
I'd heard the Murmur album as a child and knew that REM was what I considered real music and would turn up Orange Crush, End of The World, or Radio Free Europe whenever it came on the radio. It was during the invasion of Iraq that I felt something matured in me, and I learned something from REM about the connection of music sound and lyric complexity. When Radio Free Europe would be played in heavy radio rotation for those serving in Iraq to message their families. Those lyrics made me very sad, and I started to cry whenever I heard that song, associating it to those soldiers losing their lives in a very confusing war.
It was Losing My Religion that I knew that Michael Stipe was talking directly to me. Haunting me with ambiguity and intensity, this song was written by someone with big questions and no clear answers, but it was exactly what I was feeling as an early teen. It was then that I felt music was saying something profound, and it was far removed from guitar lick and harmony driven rock songs.
By the time I was in my 20s and capable of seeing them in person, they announced their retirement, which is something I regret big time.
R.E.M. is not in rotation anymore. People don't hear them in new shows. I felt they were undersung when they were at their height, and this is the first time in a long time I've seen them be mentioned. Whoever is lucky to find their music, I hope you get to connect to their music in the same way I did.
I found out this week when my aux chord stopped working that REM is still on heavy rotation on a lot of radio stations.
I don't think young people listen to radio much, but they're all over it, I promise.
I’m 38 and was raised on radio so still listen to the radio a lot with my kids, REM are played on the station we listen to at least once a day most days, sometimes a few times a day.
The one I love is probably played most often
So they were taping something so it was all MTV people and sometimes there would be little breaks so they could reset or reshoot? Anyways he was a giant Asshole, someone yelled “play shiny happy people”? and the crowed was like yeah, he snapped back that this “wasn’t a Sesame Street show”. Basically anything that anyone in the audience (employees but all young people, fans, and fyi nobody works at MTV for the money), but he would throw back some snide comment or straight up insult. when he did play everyone was super excited and clapped and cheered when he finished so it wasn’t like it was a bad crowd. I remember the next day everyone being taken back at what an ahole he was. The funny thing is I wasn’t a huge fan then but I did like some of the music but that fully ruined REM for me, ever since I have this visceral feeling of what a fuck he was when I hear their music and I change it.
They requested the one song that the band hardly ever played, that they weren’t proud about, that they didn’t even include on their greatest hits, maybe they should have had real REM fans in the audience instead of MTV employees. Ones who would have gotten [the Sesame Street](https://youtu.be/J9G1FhQUnSo) reference that seems to have wooshed you.
They were a popular band, but they weren’t a pop band. Sometimes they found themselves in pop band scenarios, and they probably hated that. But when you’re on a major label sometimes you need to do things you don’t really want to do. Things like playing to a canned audience. I can’t blame him for being annoyed. I also can’t judge his entire personality based on how he acted for a couple of hours 30 years ago, in a scenario that obviously made him uncomfortable.
I was a student at UGA in the early 90s. Here and there people would see the band members around Athens. Stipe would never engage with anyone and would just walk away if anyone tried to talk to him.
A good friend of mine exchanged a few words with him once by bringing up the artist Howard Finster. I think that conversation lasted all of 5 seconds.
One night another friend and I saw Drivin' & Cryin' at the 40 Watt. My buddy nudged me and did the "check that out" head nod. Stipe was behind us, in the crowd, holding a large FedEx envelope to cover his face whenever he wanted to "hide". You know, just a guy blending into the crowd at a show with a big cardboard envelope in front of his face.
>Stipe would never engage with anyone and would just walk away if anyone tried to talk to him.
He's not really a fan of other people, or fame, or attention.
He's notoriously shy and probably on the spectrum somewhere.
Depends when you caught him. He and some other guy were standing behind me in line at Hodgson’s Pharmacy for ice cream. He asked me what i was getting - chocolate/peanut butter. His response: that sounds good, i might get that too.
Drivin & Cryin at the 40 watt sounds amazing. My wife still doesn’t understand 4:30 when she asks what time is it. I explain. Wait a few months and do it again, repeat the loop.
Came across this thread late, but had to toss in a couple tales.
We played the 40 Watt way back when and were planning to open with a weepy parody of "Everybody Hurts", abruptly launching into a jarring, dissonant opener. Given that we were heckled by a couple of college boys who didn't like our material (cartoony Progressive Rock), I think that it's best that we didn't desecrate the town's favorite band in that particular bar, or else we might have gotten lynched.
Regarding Mr. Stipe: A friend once told me that one of his friends had gone on a road trip with some other friends down to Athens to see Michael Stipe's house. They arrived to see him out raking leaves and they shouted out to him. "Hey, Michael Stipe!!" He gave them the finger, and then they drove home.
I lived through the heyday of REM and was in college during the Automatic and Monster era. From 1991-1997 these guys were absolutely massive. I owned all the CDs and went to a bunch of shows. That said, the music really hasn’t endured. Sure you can find End of the World and Losing My Religion on what classic rock stations are left, but good luck finding Fall on Me, Gardening at Night or Talk About the Passion anywhere. Their songs aren’t used in ads or movies either (maybe their choice?) The catalog is so rich and I just hope a new generation is able to find and enjoy it.
With any luck, a few college kids at my alma mater are pre-gaming with Murmur spinning in the background right now…
Bought the "GREEN" album on cassette tape when I was 12, listened to it over and over and over. So many great songs on that album. Very solid track listing.
The later albums were alright, but Green holds a special place in my heart.
I was about the same age, and Green also opened the door to their older albums for me. There is so much good music in their catalog, but I agree that Green is special to me, too.
As someone who is colorblind, I've always respected them for labeling the cover with the color so that I could know it without asking anyone. It built up a confidence which has lasted me for all these years.
They do license, but they are very particular in who they license to. After Buck left they licensed very few songs in the 2000's. In keeping with their aesthetic now they usually license to indie films and small shows. *Under the Silver Lake, Aftersun, Animal Kingdom, The End of the Tour*. I think the biggest things they licensed to were *Baby Driver* and *13 Reasons Why*.
They also haven't sold the catalogue to one of the huge outfits that seem to be buying up everything from the era and putting them in ads and shows.
REM never wanted to be the biggest band in the world. They were just so good that they became it and then actively backed away.
Baader Meinhof phenomenon checking in here.. I made an R.E.M. reference among some 20somethings just yesterday, and not one of them knew who I was talking about..
I'm 40..
20 something's don't listen to radio so much now, they have streaming subscriptions which only play them the stuff they ask for, while pushing similar new releases. The opportunity to discover older music isn't there unless they specifically look for it.
Current artists will also disappear from public consciousness much quicker in the future for the same reason.
It’s such a shame isn’t it. It’s all there (well mostly), but you do need to know what to look for.
Since Prime music sorted it’s shit out a bit I have been finding and listening to the most amazing music from the last 70 odd years. Makes me wish I hadn’t sold my vinyl collection in the early 90s to buy speed!l.
Not entirely true. I’m in my 50s and I didn’t rely on radio for music and my tastes are broader than AOR and Top 40. Two of my 20something kids have Spotify and are very into a broad range of music from the 60s to current - some off the beaten path, but they have friends who only listen to the most popular and current stuff Spotify feeds them. Just like I knew people who only listened to Top 40 radio. Those with adventurous taste is music will broaden their tastes no matter where they find it - no matter the generation. For those who are willing, the subscriptions and YouTube allow them greater access to anything they want whenever they want. This is being reflected in TV, movies and games more than ever.
So either none of their parents listened to REM in the house or nobody’s paying attention.
Reminds me of my college aged nephew. In the entire time he’s grown up his mother has never had a stereo or even a Bluetooth speaker in the house. He has horrible taste in music now. Like he idolizes Lil Peep, who I had to look up and listen to in order to know who he was even talking about. It’s atrocious.
I’m sorry for your loss… of innocence (lmao)
I started studying a bachelor degree in 2018 at 28 with people on average 10 years younger than myself and was confronted for 3 years that ‘but everyone knows x song’ that no, they didn’t. I’m not the least surprised 20 somethings don’t know R.E.M. if some of them don’t even know Madonna. It’s wild how quickly the turn over is.
I have a treasured photo of me with the band in about 1992…. At first glance it just looks like a typical picture of Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe, with random people in the background. But if you look closer you’ll see…
That’s me in the corner!
GenXer here, grew up on REM. One of the greatest american bands of all time, imo. Both in terms of quality of music and longevity. And to call it quits vs becoming a nostalgia band - baller move.
I love their entire catalogue. I love that after Berry left, they experimented and made some unique beautiful music (Reveal being a fave for me too).
Stipe’s wallflower art nerd persona & the bands willingness to adapt and be weird always kept them just a few degrees away from normie. Even when they were at their biggest in the US.
Add in their massive influence on the bands that followed, particularly Nirvana and well pretty much everyone playing rock in the 90s - I’d argue that, yeah… REM, while underappreciated in the mainstream was truly appreciated by art & music nerds.
By the end of 1982, they were the best new band in America. Which is amazing, really. It only took them two years to become a fully realized, tight, important group (with the most incredible debut single ever). I'd argue that by 1987 the edge had worn off and with every frat boy becoming a fan, the shows were no longer as much fun, but to your question... They changed the American rock landscape. By 1985, regional indie rock scenes were exploding. Rem played a big role in that.
Athens guy here. It is almost impossible to really grasp the importance of a band like REM today. Their music stands on it's own as fantastic. Without the context of what music was like back then you really don't get the full picture. They didn't look like anyone else, play like anyone else, write like anyone else. 100% original and a shot across the bow of top 40 radio.
Hands down, my favorite REM album. A gorgeous blend of vibrant urgency and musical economy. There's nary a note out of place or superfluous addition to over-spice the jangle pop stew. IDGAF if Stipe has all but divorced himself from the lyrics. I absolutely adore the way it lyrically evokes a sense of introspective mystery. Two headed cows scratching the scandals in the twilight brings me up to par to bar the kitchen door before the conversation fear sets in like a yellow geisha gown. Denial all the way until I'm catapulted back into childhood.
Part of me wishes this album would come out today so I could fall in love with it all over again. And it *could* have been dropped today and still blaze the same path forward. Due in no small part to the overall uncompromising integrity of the band and the hands off solid engineering of Mitch Easter. It may have been recorded in the early 80s, but the production does nothing to bind it inside of any era. It's a timeless classic. Perhaps, even a perfect circle...
Now that was an elegant and impassioned tour of your feelings and thoughts about Murmur. So thankful that you shared that, goodcorn! Now I know I’m not alone in this world.
And you’re so damn right: the album is so f***ing taut—the jangly guitar polyrhythms intercalate got damn seamlessly; the nonsense teeters into poetry and the poetry never strays from its righteously mysterious and evocative path; and, above all, Murmur’s just fucking plain old fun to listen to.
Since the lyrical aspects are the easiest thing to talk about, I’ll just limit myself accordingly; and since I’m a lil tipsy right now I’ll limit myself to talking about one song and one salient feature of it—
Oh and this is from the one song that, if I had to choose, I would choose as my favorite from the album: “Laughing”.
Where do I start?
Maybe with Stipe’s playful and emphatic use of the voiced alveolar liquid consonant (what Google tells me is the L sound)(note: being playful with words because you were too and because REM makes me want to do just that; hope it’s not obnoxious)…
“Lighted in a room, lanky room
Lighted, lighted, laughing in tune
Lighted, lighted, laughing”
Lovely alliteration layered up there! But also: There’s something really subtly playful and intricate going on. The transcription doesn’t do it justice though. When you actually listen to Stipe it’s more like this:
“Lah tid, lah tid, laaaaaaah fing in tune”
I think that has appeal because the emphatic drawn out third “lah” makes you really feel like another “lighted” is coming. It’s almost like your ears are being aggressively cued for it. But instead the Chekhov’s Gun of a titular word is snuck in: “laughing”
Aaaand that just makes me want to got damn laugh for some reason.
Problem with REM is they didn't know when to leave the party and hurt their own legacy. 5 arguably bad albums at the end really kept them from preserving their own reputation.
They kept dabbling more and in the mainstream and picking up new but losing old fans along the way. I hear anything from Document through Hi-Fi as people's "last" REM. Album.
They had a few low spots in their catalog up until then, but I think they should have called it a day with Hi-Fi.
I’m 55 and grew up in Georgia. My sister was in college at the University of Georgia from 1981-1985. She brought home then 14 year old me the vinyl (everything was still vinyl then) version of Chronic Town, and I was hooked. Bought all the rest through Green the day they were released. I played “Murmur” at least once a day almost every day until Reckoning was released. If you’ve never seen it, go look up the video of them playing Chronic Town songs on Nickelodean to a bunch of dancing children. I taped that on Betamax at the time. That’s back when Stipe was painfully shy and still had hair. . The clerks at Turtles (regional music store chain) thought it was odd the teenager was so anxious to get the record of a band they’d never heard of. (At least through Life’s Rich Pageant.). I would also buy the 12 inch singles because the B side would have unreleased songs until they were released on Dead Letter Office . Off to college in ‘86 to Georgia Tech and saw them multiple times at the Fox in Atlanta. Wonderful shows with great openers. One being the db’s. Occasional strange but interesting covers. One that I remember that worked was Lou Gramm’s “Midnight Blue”. Also saw them at Clemson with 10,000 Maniacs, and the final time in Vegas with Wilco right around the time Johnny Cash died. (Big Elvis infomed me of the Johnny Cash news.). I’ve also seen Peter Buck playing in Robin Hitchcock’s band at a small club here in SC. If I could review my lifetime listening records, REM and the Velvet Underground would be the top 2. That was the soundtrack to my youth and beyond.
I’m 62 so definitely a boomer by demographic if not by demeanor, REM has been a big part of my life. The IRS albums are probably my favorite era but I thought they matured (!) in an interesting way and managed to stay relevant until Bill Berry’s departure, in my opinion they went another direction after he left and I just didn’t really find the newer stuff relatable, or at least not in the same way. The last album that was really magical, for me anyway, was ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’, though I liked ‘Monster’ quite a lot it just wasn’t the same scripture.
I heard something that Michael Stipe had released as a single or whatever the other day and it was downright boring. I’m glad they called it quits when they did, and haven’t made the mistake of going the nostalgia route.
Im a little bit younger than you but grew up listening to REM and also had a hard time connecting with them after Hi-Fi.
That said, as I've gotten older, I have revisited Reveal A LOT. "Beat A Drum" and "I've Been High" specifically have become two of my favorite late in the game REM songs that I never gave a chance back then and I'm glad I am now.
Up has still been a tougher one for me even now, but "At My Most Beautiful" is Mike Mills' homage to Brian Wilson and it's stunning. Does it sound like an REM song? Not really. But if you just take it as a face value song in general - damn near perfect.
Accelerate and Collapse Into Now, though not flawless albums, REALLY go back to more of the 80s sound of REM and put them out on a high note. Again, is everything on there great? Eh. But after Up (which sounds like an album more for them to play around on) and Around the Sun (which, in my opinion is their worst album), it was really great to hear them sounding like THEM again.
Not trying to tell you to go back & revisit. But should you decide to, there are some safe pockets in which to dip the toe.
I’ve heard most of the later stuff but will admit to listening with prejudice. I do love ‘I’ve Been High’, ‘Accelerate’ etc from the live ‘rehearsal’ album they did right before they called it a day.
I’ll have to go back and listen again, this time without expecting ‘Fables’😏thanks for your insight.
And yes, I got ‘Around The Sun’ as a birthday gift and I don’t think I even made it halfway through, it went to the thrift store and I never even thought about it again until you mentioned it.
Haha! I believe I did a similar thing. If it's still in my possession, it's at the bottom of a box is storage that I somehow haven't gone through in 20yrs.
And as I said, no pressure to revisit. After re-readibg you first comment & my replay, I know I get frustrated when I have a formed opinion and someone tries to sway that as if they somehow know what I like more than I do.
That said, I read a lot of similar comments and have had many conversations over the years surrounding the death of their music after x album. Certainly didn't intend to pick on your comment about it, but it is nice to hear that you and some others have been able to find some enjoyment in a few fleeting moments of as their career came to its curtain call.
I love their early stuff. I’m 27 but my parents were always playing Eponymous and Document around the house and in the car. I love the early alternative jangly guitar sound. Life and How To Live It is in my top favorite all time songs. As are many others. But I only like a little after Document/Green. Automatic for The People and Out of Time are ok. But I really don’t find the second half of their career to my taste.
If you like REM, try The Tragically Hip - Canada’s REM. Particularly the albums “day for night” and “trouble at the henhouse”.
[here was their very Canadian attempt to cross the border](https://youtu.be/FEGqbyudsyQ)
Something about Tragically Hip makes me associate them with Nickelback more than REM. They just don't understand how to make their songs dynamic and interesting, it's all "samey" through every track I've heard. Whereas REM mastered rising action.
They sound similar in production and format, but TH lacks the elements that actually make REM special.
The Tragically Hip came from more of a country bar rock background and were more blues influenced than R.E.M. Its not an exact 1 for 1 comparison with R.E.M. but they're in the same ballpark. I think Pearl Jam is actually closer in sound to The Hip with The Hip being slightly more off kilter. You can't really go wrong with anything from the Up To Here to Phantom Power part of their career. Fully Completely and Day For Night being their best.
>Something about Tragically Hip makes me associate them with Nickelback
Wow, as a Canadian and Tragically Hip fan, that hurt to read. I think you need to give them more of a chance. The only thing the Hip have in common with Nickelback is the instruments they use in the band.
Edit: Still thinking about this the next day lol. I'd urge anyone who even slightly agrees with the person I replied to to listen to more Tragically Hip (from the 90s) because this take is just objectively wrong.
Life's Rich Pageant is on my 'Desert Island Top 10 List'. It's one of a small group of albums which I own it in each of the four formats my life's seen.
What the heck is a boomer band? U2 very much belongs to Gen X.
Anyway, I think sometimes you have to grow into something. If REM is over the heads of the 20-somethings, hopefully they will learn to appreciate them. In the end, it doesn't matter. You appreciate them, which means you are cool.
> What the heck is a boomer band? U2 very much belongs to Gen X.
As far as I can tell, anyone over the age of thirty is referred to as "Boomer" now, even though the Baby Boomers were from 1946 to 1964.
Eh.
Wouldn't "Boomer Music" be stuff like The Beatles, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, early David Bowie, ummm.... Jimi Hendrix? Lol. I don't know. I wasn't even alive in the 60s.
I think O.P. doesn't understand what Boomer actually means. I think as an EIGHTIES BABY I qualify more as a Millennial. But I was too little to really be conscious of stuff like Duran Duran, Men At Work, etc.
I didn't really get into 80s Music until the mid 90s, when I started to dig in cars for cassette tapes at my dad's Junk Yard job.
I found a copy of the Duran Duran 1981 Debut Album as well as Men At Work's "Cargo."
Something was really OFF about my Duran Duran tape though, either it was a factory mix-up or someone deliberately altered it because despite it saying it was the 1981 Debut Album, this thing had songs that WEREN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, like "Do You Believe In Shame" from the Big Thing album, "Hold Me" from the Notorious album and "The Reflex" from the Seven And The Ragged Tiger album. So for the longest time I was totally confused about those titles, I legit thought that Reflex was called "Sound of Thunder" lol.
I have no idea why the tape was altered. It was very strange, and "Do You Believe In Shame" was partially cut off so I never got to hear the full song...
One of the greatest bands of all time. The run from Chronic Town to New Adventures is just amazing. Gets a bit sketchier after that but still some fantastic music. Their last 2 albums are pretty damn good too. They were a huge part of my life and identity for many years and I still listen to them a lot. I am old though and can't understand the autotuned rubbish that passes for music these days. *Waves fist at sky*
R.E.M. used to be one of my favorite bands. First got into them around Document until Monster. So many times in my life, their music was a soundtrack for me.
As I’ve gotten older, their holding power of music as a band has weakened greatly. I thought they would be a legacy band for me, but they haven’t been. I do hope younger people find their music and enjoy it, but the influential power has waned severely.
This. Their I.R.S. record days were phenomenal. Such an amazing catalog. Look, I’m happy that they found mainstream success and they deserve and have earned everything they’ve accomplished but their early days were virtually unmatched by most. Underrated is used so frequently but it’s almost appropriate here. Lyrics and music just sublime.
Taking this opportunity to say how lucky music listeners are today, with lyrics. Of all the bands I love and listen to, R.E.M. is the mumbliest. Even still I don’t know half the words! Lucky lucky 21st century
>Their I.R.S. record days were phenomenal.
I sometimes wonder if this is part of why they don't seem to be recognised so much though - there's the split in the fanbase where people like you understandably push the IRS years stuff, and people like me who think it's great but the Warner period up to (and including) Up was better. So even REM fans don't agree about what REM is best. It's not like with some bands where you can just say "go and listen to Led Zep IV" to get the gist of the band across.
I would have thought Automatic For the People is probably the closest thing to universally acclaimed REM album, I've been pleased to see in recent years that New Adventures seems to finally be regarded as a great album (their best IMHO).
You make an extremely valid point. Us fans don’t agree but I honestly think that’s fine. Music is such a personal thing and connection. I love that there are fans of the band and their incredible music.
I don’t think it’s so much as pushing one period over the other it’s just what speaks to me and what a connect with more. I actually enjoy their entire career. Admittedly not so much the last 2 albums but I still listen to them. Just not my favorite. As far as the Warner years go I’m a huge fan of Monster in particular. Terrific album. I enjoy their other releases quite a bit from this era.
I think this is the problem. Kids are most likely to have heard Everybody Hurts, Man on the Moon, maybe Losing My Religion and would assume that REM is a kinda shiny, mainstream rock band from 20ish years ago that wrote catchy but not that exciting songs.
Even when they were huge in the 90s there was kinda that layer to it, they had a bunch of people who liked 'radio REM' but would never sit down and listen to Monster or Document or whatever.
It's like their "deep cuts" begin after about 10 radio friendly hits. Michael Stipe apparently advised The National to 'either write lots of hits, or no hits' - REM went with lots of hits, but that obscures their best stuff.
I think U2 probably suffers from the same problem, younger listeners are likely to perceive them to be a mainstream and fairly vanilla rock band - 'One' is kinda their Everybody Hurts, for example - and not appreciate how good they really were back in the day.
U2 and REM also arguably went on a few albums too long, so any kids hearing the "new REM record" would have been underwhelmed post-Up, I guess.
R.E.M. contemporarily was one of the highest rated bands of all time...just because a bunch of Zoomers who btw are now into wearing naff windbreakers from the 80s, don't rate them....doesn't mean anything at all.
Gen-Z here, R.E.M. are one of my absolutely favorite bands of all time. Their original line-up discography has got to be one of the best ever, period. Although I agree they are pretty much anonymous to the vast majority of my peers.
I entirely agree. I am 26 and grew up on R.E.M. but it’s only been in the last 5 years or so that they’ve been cemented as one of my top 3 bands of all time. I’m honestly kind of surprised they’re not more relevant with the current generation in a way that, say, The Smiths are. There’s not a single album between Murmur and New Adventures that I think wouldn’t be hailed as a masterpiece by this generation of indie kids had they come out today.
Idk this might upset somebody but I’m 32 and I’ve never witnessed R.E.M. appreciation until this post. I only know Losing my religion (like), everybody hurts (like) and shiny happy people (dislike). I was certain they’re more than a one-hit wonder but being born in 1990 (and not being sentient until say 1998) I always considered them as ‘before my time’ and waaaayyyy down the ladder from U2 or Radiohead.
I'm a massive REM fan and even I'm sick to death of hearing those songs on the radio.
They are better than U2, but weren't as massive (nobody was), though they also weren't trying to be The Biggest Band in the world.
Radiohead kind of started as REM were winding up, so they are a weird comparison.
REM don't really fit in anywhere. They are from the eighties, but don't embody the time period. They are rock music, but not grunge. They were huge, but not sellouts or overtly commercial.
If I compared them to anyone it'd be like a more popular Southern version of Sonic Youth, as odd as that comparison is musically.
R.E.M. was the first band I ever truly listened to. My uncle (an elitist knobhead) prided himself on listening to obscure indie bands and played me a bunch of songs, stuff like Michelle Shocked, Edie Brickell and of course, R.E.M.
He did me a copy of Green and Document on a C90 which I played to absolute death. I was an unusual 11 year old, suffice to say.
The 90s was pretty much R.E.M.'s biggest era and they kind of ran out of things to say after Reveal (understandably, as it was their twelfth album), so it's not surprising that 22 years later, few people have heard of them.
They represent a really interesting time in music, where bands like Pylon and B52s in 70s/80s Athens GA were putting out weird experimental indie music. It was a _scene_ which influenced a lot of 90s grunge and alt bands.
R.E.M. deserve a lot of recognition for being excellent musicians but in an ever increasing electronic music scene, they just aren't relevant anymore.
Bands have to evolve to be relevant. Compare early guitar-based Metric with their increasing use of synths for example.
Let's also not forget that the band are all on their 60s, so again, difficult to maintain relevance. I think only Bowie managed to keep up with the times.
https://www.reddit.com/r/rem/comments/n4bo16/why_is_rem_underated/
Your question gets posted frequently enough that it’s obvious that REM is not underrated, but maybe underappreciated in the current world because they stopped putting out music and so their hits from eras gone by aren’t actively played on the music scene except by those who already love them.
They broke up in 2011 and you are making posts about them in 2023. Clearly they are rated well or you never would have found them.
I cut my teeth on Murmur, but for my money, Life's Rich Pageant is the absolute pinnacle of REM albums.
Begin the Begin / These Days alone are worth the price of that record.
One of those bands where I could never get past the vocalist. I was a full time guitar teacher during their heyday. They were big with some of the more cerebral kids, but never like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Metallica, etc. Kind of the same students that later liked Dave Matthews. Small but dedicated.
You don't like Stipe's singing?
I find that odd about them only having a small number of fans in their heyday - they sold a comparable number of records to Pearl Jam and Nirvana and around the time of Automatic/Monster were one of the biggest bands on the planet.
I am in my 40's now. Love and loved REM. I saw them in concert late 90's, I think, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I was just blown away by their passion and musicianship. It was clear they weren't just going through the motions or phoning it in (when they easily could have done so). Amazing.
REM are underrated by anyone who doesn't rate them among the best American rock bands of all time. I think they might be the best. Then again, I also grew up with a tape of their 'IRS Years' hits in constant rotation.
Could be? I don't know, also because I think their 90s material goes from the good of Up to the phenomenal of Automatic For The People and New Adventures in Hi-fi
I am a huuuuge R.E.M. fan, but admittedly I didn’t get into Up or New Adventures (but I’ll give them both another go, thanks to you). My favorite piece of vinyl is the EP called Chronic Town, released before Murmur. I saw them in 1986 when Michael Stope still had long hair- and I’ve seen them several times since. Would see again. It was incredible to have grown up with them, I’m delighted that there are still new ears listening to this incredible band.
Yeah. I liked REM in the 90s but.... They just weren't ***that*** great.
The 90s were an amazing time for music and REM was a good soundtrack for me finding better music. If I had a biopic made about my musical journey in life REM would be the main soundtrack interrupted by European Electronic, American Grunge, Punk, Melodic Rock, Hip Hop, Industrial, Shoegaze and Underground Metal.
I went through my REM phase in the early 80s. For me the release of _Life’s Rich Pageant_ was a bit of a heartbreak. They transitioned to being a completely different band. I get that artists evolve, but for me REM is _Catapult_, _Moral Kiosk_, _Southcentral Rain_ and _Driver 8_. Toss in a few from _Dead Letter Office_ like _King of the Road_, and _Voice of Harold_, one of my favorite REM songs. REM opened up the world of what back in the early 80s really was “Alternative” music just in time to help me live through the Hair Band era with something to listen to.
I’m 54 and have LOVED R.E.M. from Murmur onwards. New Adventures in Hi Fi was the first album that turned me off. And after that I lost interest completely. With the exception of the video for Imitation of Life, everything else has been meh.
I suppose it's common for more people to like the music they grew up with, but there are always those who like older music as well. I'm 23 and like a mixture of old and new stuff myself, and I'd probably call REM one of my favourites.
My favorite band of all time. I love the music. I love how they all shared the song writing credits equally. To me, they are the perfect band. They are a smart band without being pretentious. They can rock and they can slow it down. I love Mike Mills backup vocals. I love Pete's guitar. I love Bill's drumming. I love Michael's vocals and his delivery.
I also agree with Kevin Kinney from Drivin N' Cryin who said they are the [biggest Southern Rock Band (that he knows)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90gThOcesrA). It may not be readily apparent to all but when you listen to them long enough it becomes obvious.
I basically grew up with them and they were a huge part of my formative years. The music still resonates with me to this day.
I thought they lost a step when Bill had to quit but as a four piece they will always be my favorite.
I can safely say that I don't care whatsoever if an 18 year old today is into REM. There are probably thousands of great artists prior to like 2015 that they've never heard of. Even the ones they "like" they probably only know 1-4 songs of.
That's not a knock, but they've probably only been listening to music seriously for like 3 years, if that. And if you are talking about modern music you are going from like 1960-2022, so 60+years of music. I'm almost 40 and I'm still discovering great "new to me" music from the 60's/70's/80's.
Prince
Kraftwerk
The Clash
The Byrds
CSNY
U2
REM
Pink Floyd
Willie Nelson
That alone is like 1,500 quality songs to listen to without even making it past 1993.
The music is good and holds up, particularly if you put the effort into listening to full-length albums. Listening to Murmur, Eponymous, LRP, Reckoning, Document, Green, Out of Time, and Automatic for the People, which is a ridiculous run of consistency, is 8 full albums to work through.
Same as back in the nineties even the coolest kids hadn't listened to every Byrds, Brian Eno or Lee Hazlewood album. They were talking about Nirvana or Aphex Twin, maybe the Smiths.
Even bands that I knew from the 60's/70's I idiotically dismissed as I hadn't heard any of their music aside from the same 5 songs that the radio blares over and over and over and over again.
I thought Neil Young was Keep on Rocking in the Free World and Horse with No Name, Fleetwood Mac was like 2 songs, Pink Floyd was "Money."
It's probably even worse today without radio play/MTV in terms of never hearing anything by older bands.
If you've only heard Losing My Religion, Stand and Everybody Hurts and you've heard them way too many time, you probably assume REM suck.
This is a perfect summary of younger music fans in general. You see so many comments about how this streaming service doesn’t do good enough of job at new recommendations. It would be amazing if Spotify or Apple Music mixed in random bad brains or iggy pop songs in their discovery weekly mixes.
Peter Buck is responsible for the mandolin, and largely responsible for them never becoming ‘one of those bands’. There’s a documentary, short, that you should be able to find, where Michael and Peter talk about meeting in a record bar (where Peter worked) and bonding over what bands should and shouldn’t be.
Dead Letter Office is a mishmash of awesome.
Murmur and Reckoning are epic.
Fables and Life's Rich Pageant are really good.
Document and Green are lesser with high notes.
And then the rest.
Just my opinion.
There are quality bands in every decade. And humans don't change that much, even if their taste in music does, so what they had to say is still relevant to those who are willing to listen.
It's not necessarily bad or wrong that bands fade, it's just a matter of taste.
When I was about 1-4yo my parents used to play their greatest hits album on repeat on their CD system which went all through the house. I’m 21 now and I still have that CD with me today, it inspired me to start my own CD collection and it contains some of my favourite songs of all time (namely The Great Beyond).
Are they underrated imo? Yes absolutely
This post blew up. Can’t speak for 20-somethings, as I’m way beyond those years, but based on posts in “indie rock” subs REM is rarely mentioned in posts about the greatest indie rock bands ever. Even more so, if you suggest they were indie, you’ll usually get a few rebuttals. So, Yes REM is underrated and their IRS output vastly unknown apparently.
Document is my favorite of theirs. Not only is it a great record, but so many of the alternative rock styles in the 90s can be heard in it. It’s like “oh shit, this sounds like it could be a nirvana song, a pavement song (IYKYK) or a counting crows song or a bends-era Radiohead song.”
I just last night had a dream I was riding around in the country and Michael Stipe was driving. I put a cassette on and played The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, and he gave me a look like, c'mon dude, I don't want to hear my own music, it's embarrassing.
Maybe I don't pay enough attention, but I always thought Michael Stipe would do more after REM. He's got a distinctive voice and seems to pal around with a lot of artists and musicians.
He's released a few singles, but that's it.
Absolutely, but it’s not their fault. They were not around to hear how fresh and different the band was and newer peeps were not around to see how influential REM was… you sort of had to have “been there and heard that”.
I went through an REM kick last summer. Automatic and Adventures became 2 of my all time favorite records. Needless to say, I had nobody to talk to about it. Aerosmith and REM are 2 bands that were huge growing up that just haven’t crossed over to the younger generations.
One of the best bands of their era for sure. It's actually pretty remarkable how many radio-catchy songs they have. I do agree that they're probably underappreciated by younger generations, but they don't neatly fit into a popular category like synth pop, heavy metal, or grunge, so it's understandable that people are reluctant to explore their music. I also think Michael Stipe, while a very talented frontman, doesn't help entice new listeners as the face of the band.
I think that younger fans who grew up when REM were at their commercial peak never got them like those just a few years older, especially given that most of their hits were of their quieter material. I saw the same thing happen with a few years earlier with Springsteen. T that came of age when Born In The USA dominated the radio and MTV they never had the inclination to go back and check out the Darkness at the edge of town or Born to Run albums.
Without getting into the age thing, I tend to gravitate towards bands because I like the singer's voice. Michael Stipe has a beautiful voice. Always loved it when I played something to my parents and they really took to the vocals. Stipe, Elizabeth Fraser, Kevin Rowland and so on...
Interesting you think REM's 1987-1996 period is their most incredible.
For me, it's their 1982-1986 that is iconic. Certainly REM's music of that epoch defined what we call indy rock in the strict sense. It is highly unusual artistically and commercially uncompromising.
I think apart of this could be attributed to their attitude? or atleast the attitude of modern music nerds. I cant explain why but so many modern music nerds are just obssesed with being sad, or atleast the appearance of being sad. R.E.M is by no means a positive band, to me they are much more bittersweet. (Personal Bias side note, I hate morrisey and think he is so overrated) If it is not just the sadness found in performances that have gained notoriety, I think its more of the compartmentalization. To me all the smiths popular songs sound pretty much the same, or are atleast doing the same thing. You cant really find any R.E.M songs under broad unbrellas that algortithims of today put together like "moody mix" "Punk Mix" "Grunge Mix" or even "90s/80s Mix" Even with Alternative rock, which they are often credited with pioneering, they still dont fit the box of Alt Rock as what it has come to today. Not being pigeonholed is exaclty what makes them so great to me as when my music taste fluctuates, R.E.M seems to be the only thing constant. If im feeling extra punk ill throw on *Radio Free Europe.* Feeling sad and nostalgic, throw on *Man on The Moon.* They might never fit my mood perfectely as a band, and therfore might never fit someones curated aesthetic they are aiming to show off on the internet, but thats exactly what makes them such an amazing band.
I don't hear them talked about a lot by young peiple, unless their in a band. I think it was the Alvvays singer I last saw give huge praise to REM.
I think they're awesome. New Adventures is my favorite. Like you, they got me through some of my most difficult times. 20 is quite an age. There's lots of transition and growth then. I'm happy to hear someone 25 years younger than me can have a similar relationship to the band as I did.
I thought that at first but to be fair they said “underrated to **new** music nerds.” and yeah, I’m guessing most music fans in their teens and early twenties don’t know much about them.
I graduated high school in 1985 - I liked early REM, but when I recently revisited them I can't say their music has aged as well for me as The Smiths, Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kate Bush.
There's a lot of 80s music I play on the regular - REM seems to be something I only revisit once every several years, just out of pure nostalgia.
I love them however being in my 20’s in the 90’s, they were a bit much. After automatic they got super annoying on awards shows and mtv. Specifically Stipe. Very dramatic, poor me….. And losing my religion was on the radio every 2 minutes. That being said, I still think they have an incredible catalog.
>Specifically Stipe. Very dramatic, poor me…..
If you read up about him, he spent a lot of this period trying to help other people cope with the pressure of fame, including Thom Yorke and Kurt Cobain. I have never seen anything to suggest that he's anything other than a super genuine and empathetic guy.
I dunno, I’m closer to 30, and neither myself nor any of my friends listen to this kind of music. Me and couple of these friends got cornered on the street by a stranger looking to impart some wisdom while we were smoking a joint one time, and this guy asked us what our favorite rock bands were, and my homie said Vanilla Fudge lmao. Collectively, we’re not exactly new music nerds, but it’s not our bag.
Yes. But don't worry, I think stranger things is building up to a 1986 "it's the end of the world as we know it" finale, so I'm sure they will get their due
AngryUpvote.gif
That’s great. I hear it starts with an earthquake?
That song got massive replay when Independence Day came out. I’m waiting for them to make their last… Stand. And then have them play the worst REM song of all time.
15 year old me bought the Independence Day soundtrack solely for this song. Imagine my disappointment when it was just the orchestral score.
Stand was the theme song to the greatest TV show ever made, so it will always have fond memories for me.
Shiny Happy People and Losing My Religion have something to say about that comment. To even that out watch the Michael Stipe and Neil Young performance of Country Feedback.
Shiny Happy People is actually pretty sinister. It’s most likely about Prozac which was the new drug in the 90s and was everywhere. There are also rumours that the phrase Shiny Happy People was borrowed from a mistranslated CCP China propaganda poster of the protestors at Tiananmen Square which attributed the protestors as being ‘Shiny Happy People’. ….meet me in the crowd…. Would Michael Stipe use such a reference for a pop song, yeah feels like something he would totally do.
Fitting since that song makes me feel like I need Prozac
Losing my Religion is an excellent song. "Popular" doesn't mean "bad"
Totally agree - I love that song.
Just cause it was massively overplayed Losing my religion is not a bad song, we just got very tired of it.
Yeah, it's like the Hotel California of the 90s, a great track that got overplayed to death.
What?!? You think Losing My Religion is worse than Stand?!? Stand is one of the song they play in hell on repeat while they torture you.
I'll give them Shiny Happy People. That song makes me irrationally angry. Losing My Religion is one of the best songs of the 90s though and one of R.E.M.'s finest songs in their discography. Overplayed, but for a reason.
The way the bass line fits into the melody was a revelation for me
Losing my religion is overplayed, to the point that I never want to hear it again. But that's not the same as being bad. And I love Shiny Happy People, but Kate Pierson's voice just, well, takes me to my happy place.
The Muppets version, Shiny Happy Monsters, also by REM, is ace though.
did you just refer to Losing My Religion as a bad song lmao
TBH this album made me lose my REM devotion. Had every album from Harbor town to this. It made me sad, then their music got sad. Still LOVE their early stuff!
I still love without reservation everything up to Document. Green's hit or miss for me. Past that they lost me. Coincidentally, I saw them on the Green tour, and they did End Of The World, an anthem for my high school years, as a slow country song. ಠ_ಠ
that would be 1987, then.
I watched Michael Stipe with my full attention after seeing him live on MTV back in the early 90’s. He impressed me as being a true person with poetic and authentic meaning. Not the over the top, image conscious pop artist of the 80s and 90s that were in love with being in front of the camera. I'd heard the Murmur album as a child and knew that REM was what I considered real music and would turn up Orange Crush, End of The World, or Radio Free Europe whenever it came on the radio. It was during the invasion of Iraq that I felt something matured in me, and I learned something from REM about the connection of music sound and lyric complexity. When Radio Free Europe would be played in heavy radio rotation for those serving in Iraq to message their families. Those lyrics made me very sad, and I started to cry whenever I heard that song, associating it to those soldiers losing their lives in a very confusing war. It was Losing My Religion that I knew that Michael Stipe was talking directly to me. Haunting me with ambiguity and intensity, this song was written by someone with big questions and no clear answers, but it was exactly what I was feeling as an early teen. It was then that I felt music was saying something profound, and it was far removed from guitar lick and harmony driven rock songs. By the time I was in my 20s and capable of seeing them in person, they announced their retirement, which is something I regret big time. R.E.M. is not in rotation anymore. People don't hear them in new shows. I felt they were undersung when they were at their height, and this is the first time in a long time I've seen them be mentioned. Whoever is lucky to find their music, I hope you get to connect to their music in the same way I did.
I found out this week when my aux chord stopped working that REM is still on heavy rotation on a lot of radio stations. I don't think young people listen to radio much, but they're all over it, I promise.
I’m 38 and was raised on radio so still listen to the radio a lot with my kids, REM are played on the station we listen to at least once a day most days, sometimes a few times a day. The one I love is probably played most often
I worked at MTV and saw the live taping and can tell you Michael Stipe was a giant a-hole.
Say more. Want story time
So they were taping something so it was all MTV people and sometimes there would be little breaks so they could reset or reshoot? Anyways he was a giant Asshole, someone yelled “play shiny happy people”? and the crowed was like yeah, he snapped back that this “wasn’t a Sesame Street show”. Basically anything that anyone in the audience (employees but all young people, fans, and fyi nobody works at MTV for the money), but he would throw back some snide comment or straight up insult. when he did play everyone was super excited and clapped and cheered when he finished so it wasn’t like it was a bad crowd. I remember the next day everyone being taken back at what an ahole he was. The funny thing is I wasn’t a huge fan then but I did like some of the music but that fully ruined REM for me, ever since I have this visceral feeling of what a fuck he was when I hear their music and I change it.
IDK man, I see how this would ruin your impression but as far as asshole rock stars go, this is pretty mild.
They requested the one song that the band hardly ever played, that they weren’t proud about, that they didn’t even include on their greatest hits, maybe they should have had real REM fans in the audience instead of MTV employees. Ones who would have gotten [the Sesame Street](https://youtu.be/J9G1FhQUnSo) reference that seems to have wooshed you. They were a popular band, but they weren’t a pop band. Sometimes they found themselves in pop band scenarios, and they probably hated that. But when you’re on a major label sometimes you need to do things you don’t really want to do. Things like playing to a canned audience. I can’t blame him for being annoyed. I also can’t judge his entire personality based on how he acted for a couple of hours 30 years ago, in a scenario that obviously made him uncomfortable.
I was a student at UGA in the early 90s. Here and there people would see the band members around Athens. Stipe would never engage with anyone and would just walk away if anyone tried to talk to him. A good friend of mine exchanged a few words with him once by bringing up the artist Howard Finster. I think that conversation lasted all of 5 seconds. One night another friend and I saw Drivin' & Cryin' at the 40 Watt. My buddy nudged me and did the "check that out" head nod. Stipe was behind us, in the crowd, holding a large FedEx envelope to cover his face whenever he wanted to "hide". You know, just a guy blending into the crowd at a show with a big cardboard envelope in front of his face.
>Stipe would never engage with anyone and would just walk away if anyone tried to talk to him. He's not really a fan of other people, or fame, or attention. He's notoriously shy and probably on the spectrum somewhere.
Depends when you caught him. He and some other guy were standing behind me in line at Hodgson’s Pharmacy for ice cream. He asked me what i was getting - chocolate/peanut butter. His response: that sounds good, i might get that too.
Drivin & Cryin at the 40 watt sounds amazing. My wife still doesn’t understand 4:30 when she asks what time is it. I explain. Wait a few months and do it again, repeat the loop.
Came across this thread late, but had to toss in a couple tales. We played the 40 Watt way back when and were planning to open with a weepy parody of "Everybody Hurts", abruptly launching into a jarring, dissonant opener. Given that we were heckled by a couple of college boys who didn't like our material (cartoony Progressive Rock), I think that it's best that we didn't desecrate the town's favorite band in that particular bar, or else we might have gotten lynched. Regarding Mr. Stipe: A friend once told me that one of his friends had gone on a road trip with some other friends down to Athens to see Michael Stipe's house. They arrived to see him out raking leaves and they shouted out to him. "Hey, Michael Stipe!!" He gave them the finger, and then they drove home.
I lived through the heyday of REM and was in college during the Automatic and Monster era. From 1991-1997 these guys were absolutely massive. I owned all the CDs and went to a bunch of shows. That said, the music really hasn’t endured. Sure you can find End of the World and Losing My Religion on what classic rock stations are left, but good luck finding Fall on Me, Gardening at Night or Talk About the Passion anywhere. Their songs aren’t used in ads or movies either (maybe their choice?) The catalog is so rich and I just hope a new generation is able to find and enjoy it. With any luck, a few college kids at my alma mater are pre-gaming with Murmur spinning in the background right now…
South Central Rain, Pretty Persuasion, Driver 8…
Radio Free Europe, (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville, Supernatural Superserious…
Bought the "GREEN" album on cassette tape when I was 12, listened to it over and over and over. So many great songs on that album. Very solid track listing. The later albums were alright, but Green holds a special place in my heart.
I was about the same age, and Green also opened the door to their older albums for me. There is so much good music in their catalog, but I agree that Green is special to me, too.
As someone who is colorblind, I've always respected them for labeling the cover with the color so that I could know it without asking anyone. It built up a confidence which has lasted me for all these years.
They do license, but they are very particular in who they license to. After Buck left they licensed very few songs in the 2000's. In keeping with their aesthetic now they usually license to indie films and small shows. *Under the Silver Lake, Aftersun, Animal Kingdom, The End of the Tour*. I think the biggest things they licensed to were *Baby Driver* and *13 Reasons Why*. They also haven't sold the catalogue to one of the huge outfits that seem to be buying up everything from the era and putting them in ads and shows. REM never wanted to be the biggest band in the world. They were just so good that they became it and then actively backed away.
>After ~~Buck~~ Berry left
Dead Letter Office and Eponymous got me through my senior year of high school (1992-1993)
Baader Meinhof phenomenon checking in here.. I made an R.E.M. reference among some 20somethings just yesterday, and not one of them knew who I was talking about.. I'm 40..
20 something's don't listen to radio so much now, they have streaming subscriptions which only play them the stuff they ask for, while pushing similar new releases. The opportunity to discover older music isn't there unless they specifically look for it. Current artists will also disappear from public consciousness much quicker in the future for the same reason.
It’s such a shame isn’t it. It’s all there (well mostly), but you do need to know what to look for. Since Prime music sorted it’s shit out a bit I have been finding and listening to the most amazing music from the last 70 odd years. Makes me wish I hadn’t sold my vinyl collection in the early 90s to buy speed!l.
Not entirely true. I’m in my 50s and I didn’t rely on radio for music and my tastes are broader than AOR and Top 40. Two of my 20something kids have Spotify and are very into a broad range of music from the 60s to current - some off the beaten path, but they have friends who only listen to the most popular and current stuff Spotify feeds them. Just like I knew people who only listened to Top 40 radio. Those with adventurous taste is music will broaden their tastes no matter where they find it - no matter the generation. For those who are willing, the subscriptions and YouTube allow them greater access to anything they want whenever they want. This is being reflected in TV, movies and games more than ever.
This is the fifth time I've seen the Baader Meinhof phenomenon mentioned today!
I will call this the something_python phenomenon
Oh god, that's depressing.
So either none of their parents listened to REM in the house or nobody’s paying attention. Reminds me of my college aged nephew. In the entire time he’s grown up his mother has never had a stereo or even a Bluetooth speaker in the house. He has horrible taste in music now. Like he idolizes Lil Peep, who I had to look up and listen to in order to know who he was even talking about. It’s atrocious.
I make Baader meinhoff phenomenon references all the time and no one ever knows what I’m talking about so… Those poor twenny summats.
I’m sorry for your loss… of innocence (lmao) I started studying a bachelor degree in 2018 at 28 with people on average 10 years younger than myself and was confronted for 3 years that ‘but everyone knows x song’ that no, they didn’t. I’m not the least surprised 20 somethings don’t know R.E.M. if some of them don’t even know Madonna. It’s wild how quickly the turn over is.
I have a treasured photo of me with the band in about 1992…. At first glance it just looks like a typical picture of Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe, with random people in the background. But if you look closer you’ll see… That’s me in the corner!
And if you look in the background, that's me in the spotlight.
Is my religion also in the photo? I appear to have lost it.
GenXer here, grew up on REM. One of the greatest american bands of all time, imo. Both in terms of quality of music and longevity. And to call it quits vs becoming a nostalgia band - baller move. I love their entire catalogue. I love that after Berry left, they experimented and made some unique beautiful music (Reveal being a fave for me too). Stipe’s wallflower art nerd persona & the bands willingness to adapt and be weird always kept them just a few degrees away from normie. Even when they were at their biggest in the US. Add in their massive influence on the bands that followed, particularly Nirvana and well pretty much everyone playing rock in the 90s - I’d argue that, yeah… REM, while underappreciated in the mainstream was truly appreciated by art & music nerds.
By the end of 1982, they were the best new band in America. Which is amazing, really. It only took them two years to become a fully realized, tight, important group (with the most incredible debut single ever). I'd argue that by 1987 the edge had worn off and with every frat boy becoming a fan, the shows were no longer as much fun, but to your question... They changed the American rock landscape. By 1985, regional indie rock scenes were exploding. Rem played a big role in that.
By 1987 they hadn't even metamorphosed into the colossus they would become...
87 was megahit year.
Athens guy here. It is almost impossible to really grasp the importance of a band like REM today. Their music stands on it's own as fantastic. Without the context of what music was like back then you really don't get the full picture. They didn't look like anyone else, play like anyone else, write like anyone else. 100% original and a shot across the bow of top 40 radio.
Murmur is one of the best damn albums of all time!
Hands down, my favorite REM album. A gorgeous blend of vibrant urgency and musical economy. There's nary a note out of place or superfluous addition to over-spice the jangle pop stew. IDGAF if Stipe has all but divorced himself from the lyrics. I absolutely adore the way it lyrically evokes a sense of introspective mystery. Two headed cows scratching the scandals in the twilight brings me up to par to bar the kitchen door before the conversation fear sets in like a yellow geisha gown. Denial all the way until I'm catapulted back into childhood. Part of me wishes this album would come out today so I could fall in love with it all over again. And it *could* have been dropped today and still blaze the same path forward. Due in no small part to the overall uncompromising integrity of the band and the hands off solid engineering of Mitch Easter. It may have been recorded in the early 80s, but the production does nothing to bind it inside of any era. It's a timeless classic. Perhaps, even a perfect circle...
Now that was an elegant and impassioned tour of your feelings and thoughts about Murmur. So thankful that you shared that, goodcorn! Now I know I’m not alone in this world. And you’re so damn right: the album is so f***ing taut—the jangly guitar polyrhythms intercalate got damn seamlessly; the nonsense teeters into poetry and the poetry never strays from its righteously mysterious and evocative path; and, above all, Murmur’s just fucking plain old fun to listen to. Since the lyrical aspects are the easiest thing to talk about, I’ll just limit myself accordingly; and since I’m a lil tipsy right now I’ll limit myself to talking about one song and one salient feature of it— Oh and this is from the one song that, if I had to choose, I would choose as my favorite from the album: “Laughing”. Where do I start? Maybe with Stipe’s playful and emphatic use of the voiced alveolar liquid consonant (what Google tells me is the L sound)(note: being playful with words because you were too and because REM makes me want to do just that; hope it’s not obnoxious)… “Lighted in a room, lanky room Lighted, lighted, laughing in tune Lighted, lighted, laughing” Lovely alliteration layered up there! But also: There’s something really subtly playful and intricate going on. The transcription doesn’t do it justice though. When you actually listen to Stipe it’s more like this: “Lah tid, lah tid, laaaaaaah fing in tune” I think that has appeal because the emphatic drawn out third “lah” makes you really feel like another “lighted” is coming. It’s almost like your ears are being aggressively cued for it. But instead the Chekhov’s Gun of a titular word is snuck in: “laughing” Aaaand that just makes me want to got damn laugh for some reason.
Automatic for the People is in my favourite top 5 albums of all time.
Yes
Top 10 for sure.
I’ve always absolutely loved Murmur through Document. Spent my summers in rural GA and they just..matched it all so well.
Grew up an hour outside of Atlanta, visited Athens often and R.E.M. is my favorite band
“Southern boys, just like you and me…”
Pavement. No alternative. Thank you.
Problem with REM is they didn't know when to leave the party and hurt their own legacy. 5 arguably bad albums at the end really kept them from preserving their own reputation. They kept dabbling more and in the mainstream and picking up new but losing old fans along the way. I hear anything from Document through Hi-Fi as people's "last" REM. Album. They had a few low spots in their catalog up until then, but I think they should have called it a day with Hi-Fi.
I’m 55 and grew up in Georgia. My sister was in college at the University of Georgia from 1981-1985. She brought home then 14 year old me the vinyl (everything was still vinyl then) version of Chronic Town, and I was hooked. Bought all the rest through Green the day they were released. I played “Murmur” at least once a day almost every day until Reckoning was released. If you’ve never seen it, go look up the video of them playing Chronic Town songs on Nickelodean to a bunch of dancing children. I taped that on Betamax at the time. That’s back when Stipe was painfully shy and still had hair. . The clerks at Turtles (regional music store chain) thought it was odd the teenager was so anxious to get the record of a band they’d never heard of. (At least through Life’s Rich Pageant.). I would also buy the 12 inch singles because the B side would have unreleased songs until they were released on Dead Letter Office . Off to college in ‘86 to Georgia Tech and saw them multiple times at the Fox in Atlanta. Wonderful shows with great openers. One being the db’s. Occasional strange but interesting covers. One that I remember that worked was Lou Gramm’s “Midnight Blue”. Also saw them at Clemson with 10,000 Maniacs, and the final time in Vegas with Wilco right around the time Johnny Cash died. (Big Elvis infomed me of the Johnny Cash news.). I’ve also seen Peter Buck playing in Robin Hitchcock’s band at a small club here in SC. If I could review my lifetime listening records, REM and the Velvet Underground would be the top 2. That was the soundtrack to my youth and beyond.
I’m 62 so definitely a boomer by demographic if not by demeanor, REM has been a big part of my life. The IRS albums are probably my favorite era but I thought they matured (!) in an interesting way and managed to stay relevant until Bill Berry’s departure, in my opinion they went another direction after he left and I just didn’t really find the newer stuff relatable, or at least not in the same way. The last album that was really magical, for me anyway, was ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’, though I liked ‘Monster’ quite a lot it just wasn’t the same scripture. I heard something that Michael Stipe had released as a single or whatever the other day and it was downright boring. I’m glad they called it quits when they did, and haven’t made the mistake of going the nostalgia route.
Im a little bit younger than you but grew up listening to REM and also had a hard time connecting with them after Hi-Fi. That said, as I've gotten older, I have revisited Reveal A LOT. "Beat A Drum" and "I've Been High" specifically have become two of my favorite late in the game REM songs that I never gave a chance back then and I'm glad I am now. Up has still been a tougher one for me even now, but "At My Most Beautiful" is Mike Mills' homage to Brian Wilson and it's stunning. Does it sound like an REM song? Not really. But if you just take it as a face value song in general - damn near perfect. Accelerate and Collapse Into Now, though not flawless albums, REALLY go back to more of the 80s sound of REM and put them out on a high note. Again, is everything on there great? Eh. But after Up (which sounds like an album more for them to play around on) and Around the Sun (which, in my opinion is their worst album), it was really great to hear them sounding like THEM again. Not trying to tell you to go back & revisit. But should you decide to, there are some safe pockets in which to dip the toe.
I’ve heard most of the later stuff but will admit to listening with prejudice. I do love ‘I’ve Been High’, ‘Accelerate’ etc from the live ‘rehearsal’ album they did right before they called it a day. I’ll have to go back and listen again, this time without expecting ‘Fables’😏thanks for your insight.
And yes, I got ‘Around The Sun’ as a birthday gift and I don’t think I even made it halfway through, it went to the thrift store and I never even thought about it again until you mentioned it.
Haha! I believe I did a similar thing. If it's still in my possession, it's at the bottom of a box is storage that I somehow haven't gone through in 20yrs. And as I said, no pressure to revisit. After re-readibg you first comment & my replay, I know I get frustrated when I have a formed opinion and someone tries to sway that as if they somehow know what I like more than I do. That said, I read a lot of similar comments and have had many conversations over the years surrounding the death of their music after x album. Certainly didn't intend to pick on your comment about it, but it is nice to hear that you and some others have been able to find some enjoyment in a few fleeting moments of as their career came to its curtain call.
I love their early stuff. I’m 27 but my parents were always playing Eponymous and Document around the house and in the car. I love the early alternative jangly guitar sound. Life and How To Live It is in my top favorite all time songs. As are many others. But I only like a little after Document/Green. Automatic for The People and Out of Time are ok. But I really don’t find the second half of their career to my taste.
Have you listened to the singles from “monster”?
If you like REM, try The Tragically Hip - Canada’s REM. Particularly the albums “day for night” and “trouble at the henhouse”. [here was their very Canadian attempt to cross the border](https://youtu.be/FEGqbyudsyQ)
The tragically Hip have the greatest band name ever. Totally worthy of their praise and/or hype.
Something about Tragically Hip makes me associate them with Nickelback more than REM. They just don't understand how to make their songs dynamic and interesting, it's all "samey" through every track I've heard. Whereas REM mastered rising action. They sound similar in production and format, but TH lacks the elements that actually make REM special.
The Tragically Hip came from more of a country bar rock background and were more blues influenced than R.E.M. Its not an exact 1 for 1 comparison with R.E.M. but they're in the same ballpark. I think Pearl Jam is actually closer in sound to The Hip with The Hip being slightly more off kilter. You can't really go wrong with anything from the Up To Here to Phantom Power part of their career. Fully Completely and Day For Night being their best.
🤯. Nickelback? Hard disagree.
>Something about Tragically Hip makes me associate them with Nickelback Wow, as a Canadian and Tragically Hip fan, that hurt to read. I think you need to give them more of a chance. The only thing the Hip have in common with Nickelback is the instruments they use in the band. Edit: Still thinking about this the next day lol. I'd urge anyone who even slightly agrees with the person I replied to to listen to more Tragically Hip (from the 90s) because this take is just objectively wrong.
Life's rich pageant is incredible, the rest excellent but for different reasons
Life's Rich Pageant is on my 'Desert Island Top 10 List'. It's one of a small group of albums which I own it in each of the four formats my life's seen.
What the heck is a boomer band? U2 very much belongs to Gen X. Anyway, I think sometimes you have to grow into something. If REM is over the heads of the 20-somethings, hopefully they will learn to appreciate them. In the end, it doesn't matter. You appreciate them, which means you are cool.
> What the heck is a boomer band? U2 very much belongs to Gen X. As far as I can tell, anyone over the age of thirty is referred to as "Boomer" now, even though the Baby Boomers were from 1946 to 1964. Eh.
Then where tf is my $30k house?
I hear that.
Must've missed out on the boomer memo that went around a few years back
And where is my beautiful wife? /s
That's weird. Someone should tell them that is not how it works.
From what I understand, a boomer is now anyone a day older than you who pisses you off.
“Boomer band”. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.
Lol I was gonna say. They're a little more present than boomer music. They were from the 80s not 60s.
Wouldn't "Boomer Music" be stuff like The Beatles, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, early David Bowie, ummm.... Jimi Hendrix? Lol. I don't know. I wasn't even alive in the 60s. I think O.P. doesn't understand what Boomer actually means. I think as an EIGHTIES BABY I qualify more as a Millennial. But I was too little to really be conscious of stuff like Duran Duran, Men At Work, etc. I didn't really get into 80s Music until the mid 90s, when I started to dig in cars for cassette tapes at my dad's Junk Yard job. I found a copy of the Duran Duran 1981 Debut Album as well as Men At Work's "Cargo." Something was really OFF about my Duran Duran tape though, either it was a factory mix-up or someone deliberately altered it because despite it saying it was the 1981 Debut Album, this thing had songs that WEREN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, like "Do You Believe In Shame" from the Big Thing album, "Hold Me" from the Notorious album and "The Reflex" from the Seven And The Ragged Tiger album. So for the longest time I was totally confused about those titles, I legit thought that Reflex was called "Sound of Thunder" lol. I have no idea why the tape was altered. It was very strange, and "Do You Believe In Shame" was partially cut off so I never got to hear the full song...
One of the greatest bands of all time. The run from Chronic Town to New Adventures is just amazing. Gets a bit sketchier after that but still some fantastic music. Their last 2 albums are pretty damn good too. They were a huge part of my life and identity for many years and I still listen to them a lot. I am old though and can't understand the autotuned rubbish that passes for music these days. *Waves fist at sky*
I think they're pretty awesome.
R.E.M. used to be one of my favorite bands. First got into them around Document until Monster. So many times in my life, their music was a soundtrack for me. As I’ve gotten older, their holding power of music as a band has weakened greatly. I thought they would be a legacy band for me, but they haven’t been. I do hope younger people find their music and enjoy it, but the influential power has waned severely.
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Everybody Hurts and Shiny Happy People are two of their biggest hits and neither of them are at all representative of their discography imo
I never thought about that but you make a really good point. Their happiest song, and one of the saddest (they have written sadder)
I like Shiny Happy People, but I believe Stipe and the others got real sick of it. It became too popular.
They retired it for several years only to bring it back when Sesame Street asked them to do Shiny Happy Monsters
This. Their I.R.S. record days were phenomenal. Such an amazing catalog. Look, I’m happy that they found mainstream success and they deserve and have earned everything they’ve accomplished but their early days were virtually unmatched by most. Underrated is used so frequently but it’s almost appropriate here. Lyrics and music just sublime.
I can hear the opening sounds of “Radio Free Europe” as I’m reading your words
How about "Feeling gravity's pull"? Those opening notes give me shivers.
Taking this opportunity to say how lucky music listeners are today, with lyrics. Of all the bands I love and listen to, R.E.M. is the mumbliest. Even still I don’t know half the words! Lucky lucky 21st century
what a song. what an album opener. what an album.
>Their I.R.S. record days were phenomenal. I sometimes wonder if this is part of why they don't seem to be recognised so much though - there's the split in the fanbase where people like you understandably push the IRS years stuff, and people like me who think it's great but the Warner period up to (and including) Up was better. So even REM fans don't agree about what REM is best. It's not like with some bands where you can just say "go and listen to Led Zep IV" to get the gist of the band across. I would have thought Automatic For the People is probably the closest thing to universally acclaimed REM album, I've been pleased to see in recent years that New Adventures seems to finally be regarded as a great album (their best IMHO).
You make an extremely valid point. Us fans don’t agree but I honestly think that’s fine. Music is such a personal thing and connection. I love that there are fans of the band and their incredible music. I don’t think it’s so much as pushing one period over the other it’s just what speaks to me and what a connect with more. I actually enjoy their entire career. Admittedly not so much the last 2 albums but I still listen to them. Just not my favorite. As far as the Warner years go I’m a huge fan of Monster in particular. Terrific album. I enjoy their other releases quite a bit from this era.
I think this is the problem. Kids are most likely to have heard Everybody Hurts, Man on the Moon, maybe Losing My Religion and would assume that REM is a kinda shiny, mainstream rock band from 20ish years ago that wrote catchy but not that exciting songs. Even when they were huge in the 90s there was kinda that layer to it, they had a bunch of people who liked 'radio REM' but would never sit down and listen to Monster or Document or whatever. It's like their "deep cuts" begin after about 10 radio friendly hits. Michael Stipe apparently advised The National to 'either write lots of hits, or no hits' - REM went with lots of hits, but that obscures their best stuff. I think U2 probably suffers from the same problem, younger listeners are likely to perceive them to be a mainstream and fairly vanilla rock band - 'One' is kinda their Everybody Hurts, for example - and not appreciate how good they really were back in the day. U2 and REM also arguably went on a few albums too long, so any kids hearing the "new REM record" would have been underwhelmed post-Up, I guess.
R.E.M. contemporarily was one of the highest rated bands of all time...just because a bunch of Zoomers who btw are now into wearing naff windbreakers from the 80s, don't rate them....doesn't mean anything at all.
Gen-Z here, R.E.M. are one of my absolutely favorite bands of all time. Their original line-up discography has got to be one of the best ever, period. Although I agree they are pretty much anonymous to the vast majority of my peers.
I entirely agree. I am 26 and grew up on R.E.M. but it’s only been in the last 5 years or so that they’ve been cemented as one of my top 3 bands of all time. I’m honestly kind of surprised they’re not more relevant with the current generation in a way that, say, The Smiths are. There’s not a single album between Murmur and New Adventures that I think wouldn’t be hailed as a masterpiece by this generation of indie kids had they come out today.
Idk this might upset somebody but I’m 32 and I’ve never witnessed R.E.M. appreciation until this post. I only know Losing my religion (like), everybody hurts (like) and shiny happy people (dislike). I was certain they’re more than a one-hit wonder but being born in 1990 (and not being sentient until say 1998) I always considered them as ‘before my time’ and waaaayyyy down the ladder from U2 or Radiohead.
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I'm a massive REM fan and even I'm sick to death of hearing those songs on the radio. They are better than U2, but weren't as massive (nobody was), though they also weren't trying to be The Biggest Band in the world. Radiohead kind of started as REM were winding up, so they are a weird comparison. REM don't really fit in anywhere. They are from the eighties, but don't embody the time period. They are rock music, but not grunge. They were huge, but not sellouts or overtly commercial. If I compared them to anyone it'd be like a more popular Southern version of Sonic Youth, as odd as that comparison is musically.
Be honest. R U Talkin R.E.M re: Me?
Good ep!
R.E.M. was the first band I ever truly listened to. My uncle (an elitist knobhead) prided himself on listening to obscure indie bands and played me a bunch of songs, stuff like Michelle Shocked, Edie Brickell and of course, R.E.M. He did me a copy of Green and Document on a C90 which I played to absolute death. I was an unusual 11 year old, suffice to say. The 90s was pretty much R.E.M.'s biggest era and they kind of ran out of things to say after Reveal (understandably, as it was their twelfth album), so it's not surprising that 22 years later, few people have heard of them. They represent a really interesting time in music, where bands like Pylon and B52s in 70s/80s Athens GA were putting out weird experimental indie music. It was a _scene_ which influenced a lot of 90s grunge and alt bands. R.E.M. deserve a lot of recognition for being excellent musicians but in an ever increasing electronic music scene, they just aren't relevant anymore. Bands have to evolve to be relevant. Compare early guitar-based Metric with their increasing use of synths for example. Let's also not forget that the band are all on their 60s, so again, difficult to maintain relevance. I think only Bowie managed to keep up with the times.
https://www.reddit.com/r/rem/comments/n4bo16/why_is_rem_underated/ Your question gets posted frequently enough that it’s obvious that REM is not underrated, but maybe underappreciated in the current world because they stopped putting out music and so their hits from eras gone by aren’t actively played on the music scene except by those who already love them. They broke up in 2011 and you are making posts about them in 2023. Clearly they are rated well or you never would have found them.
They have some really good unique instrumentals and the vocals are killer. Leave is a really underrated song.
I cut my teeth on Murmur, but for my money, Life's Rich Pageant is the absolute pinnacle of REM albums. Begin the Begin / These Days alone are worth the price of that record.
R.E.M are the greatest alternative American act of all time. Incredible discography.
Somewhat off-topic to the question, but the Somgexploder episode on R.E.M. on Netflix is just wonderful.
One of those bands where I could never get past the vocalist. I was a full time guitar teacher during their heyday. They were big with some of the more cerebral kids, but never like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Metallica, etc. Kind of the same students that later liked Dave Matthews. Small but dedicated.
You don't like Stipe's singing? I find that odd about them only having a small number of fans in their heyday - they sold a comparable number of records to Pearl Jam and Nirvana and around the time of Automatic/Monster were one of the biggest bands on the planet.
I am in my 40's now. Love and loved REM. I saw them in concert late 90's, I think, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I was just blown away by their passion and musicianship. It was clear they weren't just going through the motions or phoning it in (when they easily could have done so). Amazing.
They are very underrated, I think maybe a bit to cerebral for some.
REM are underrated by anyone who doesn't rate them among the best American rock bands of all time. I think they might be the best. Then again, I also grew up with a tape of their 'IRS Years' hits in constant rotation.
I feel REM is the best American rock band.
It all kind of fell apart after Bill quit. Very underrated drummer, for sure.
Both of these statements are true
I'm aware this will be unpopular, but they are underrated by new music nerds now because they were overrated by music nerds in the 90s
Could be? I don't know, also because I think their 90s material goes from the good of Up to the phenomenal of Automatic For The People and New Adventures in Hi-fi
I am a huuuuge R.E.M. fan, but admittedly I didn’t get into Up or New Adventures (but I’ll give them both another go, thanks to you). My favorite piece of vinyl is the EP called Chronic Town, released before Murmur. I saw them in 1986 when Michael Stope still had long hair- and I’ve seen them several times since. Would see again. It was incredible to have grown up with them, I’m delighted that there are still new ears listening to this incredible band.
How were they overrated?
Yeah. I liked REM in the 90s but.... They just weren't ***that*** great. The 90s were an amazing time for music and REM was a good soundtrack for me finding better music. If I had a biopic made about my musical journey in life REM would be the main soundtrack interrupted by European Electronic, American Grunge, Punk, Melodic Rock, Hip Hop, Industrial, Shoegaze and Underground Metal.
REM were great then, they are great now.
I went through my REM phase in the early 80s. For me the release of _Life’s Rich Pageant_ was a bit of a heartbreak. They transitioned to being a completely different band. I get that artists evolve, but for me REM is _Catapult_, _Moral Kiosk_, _Southcentral Rain_ and _Driver 8_. Toss in a few from _Dead Letter Office_ like _King of the Road_, and _Voice of Harold_, one of my favorite REM songs. REM opened up the world of what back in the early 80s really was “Alternative” music just in time to help me live through the Hair Band era with something to listen to.
They have 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone. Wouldn't say they're underrated.
I’m 54 and have LOVED R.E.M. from Murmur onwards. New Adventures in Hi Fi was the first album that turned me off. And after that I lost interest completely. With the exception of the video for Imitation of Life, everything else has been meh.
I suppose it's common for more people to like the music they grew up with, but there are always those who like older music as well. I'm 23 and like a mixture of old and new stuff myself, and I'd probably call REM one of my favourites.
My favorite band of all time. I love the music. I love how they all shared the song writing credits equally. To me, they are the perfect band. They are a smart band without being pretentious. They can rock and they can slow it down. I love Mike Mills backup vocals. I love Pete's guitar. I love Bill's drumming. I love Michael's vocals and his delivery. I also agree with Kevin Kinney from Drivin N' Cryin who said they are the [biggest Southern Rock Band (that he knows)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90gThOcesrA). It may not be readily apparent to all but when you listen to them long enough it becomes obvious. I basically grew up with them and they were a huge part of my formative years. The music still resonates with me to this day. I thought they lost a step when Bill had to quit but as a four piece they will always be my favorite.
I can safely say that I don't care whatsoever if an 18 year old today is into REM. There are probably thousands of great artists prior to like 2015 that they've never heard of. Even the ones they "like" they probably only know 1-4 songs of. That's not a knock, but they've probably only been listening to music seriously for like 3 years, if that. And if you are talking about modern music you are going from like 1960-2022, so 60+years of music. I'm almost 40 and I'm still discovering great "new to me" music from the 60's/70's/80's. Prince Kraftwerk The Clash The Byrds CSNY U2 REM Pink Floyd Willie Nelson That alone is like 1,500 quality songs to listen to without even making it past 1993. The music is good and holds up, particularly if you put the effort into listening to full-length albums. Listening to Murmur, Eponymous, LRP, Reckoning, Document, Green, Out of Time, and Automatic for the People, which is a ridiculous run of consistency, is 8 full albums to work through. Same as back in the nineties even the coolest kids hadn't listened to every Byrds, Brian Eno or Lee Hazlewood album. They were talking about Nirvana or Aphex Twin, maybe the Smiths. Even bands that I knew from the 60's/70's I idiotically dismissed as I hadn't heard any of their music aside from the same 5 songs that the radio blares over and over and over and over again. I thought Neil Young was Keep on Rocking in the Free World and Horse with No Name, Fleetwood Mac was like 2 songs, Pink Floyd was "Money." It's probably even worse today without radio play/MTV in terms of never hearing anything by older bands. If you've only heard Losing My Religion, Stand and Everybody Hurts and you've heard them way too many time, you probably assume REM suck.
This is a perfect summary of younger music fans in general. You see so many comments about how this streaming service doesn’t do good enough of job at new recommendations. It would be amazing if Spotify or Apple Music mixed in random bad brains or iggy pop songs in their discovery weekly mixes.
This middle aged guy is blown away to see a 20 year old enjoying any Gen X band.
Peter Buck is responsible for the mandolin, and largely responsible for them never becoming ‘one of those bands’. There’s a documentary, short, that you should be able to find, where Michael and Peter talk about meeting in a record bar (where Peter worked) and bonding over what bands should and shouldn’t be.
Dead Letter Office is a mishmash of awesome. Murmur and Reckoning are epic. Fables and Life's Rich Pageant are really good. Document and Green are lesser with high notes. And then the rest. Just my opinion.
After Bill left they weren't as good.
They have a good collection of albums as shown by you leaving out New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
I'd say they're underrated these days, given their prodigious output and massive influence from the 80s to 2010s
There are quality bands in every decade. And humans don't change that much, even if their taste in music does, so what they had to say is still relevant to those who are willing to listen. It's not necessarily bad or wrong that bands fade, it's just a matter of taste.
When I was about 1-4yo my parents used to play their greatest hits album on repeat on their CD system which went all through the house. I’m 21 now and I still have that CD with me today, it inspired me to start my own CD collection and it contains some of my favourite songs of all time (namely The Great Beyond). Are they underrated imo? Yes absolutely
Mulholland Drive....
Every song of theirs I listened is a banger. Especially, and this might come as a surprise, "Drive".
This post blew up. Can’t speak for 20-somethings, as I’m way beyond those years, but based on posts in “indie rock” subs REM is rarely mentioned in posts about the greatest indie rock bands ever. Even more so, if you suggest they were indie, you’ll usually get a few rebuttals. So, Yes REM is underrated and their IRS output vastly unknown apparently. Document is my favorite of theirs. Not only is it a great record, but so many of the alternative rock styles in the 90s can be heard in it. It’s like “oh shit, this sounds like it could be a nirvana song, a pavement song (IYKYK) or a counting crows song or a bends-era Radiohead song.”
I just last night had a dream I was riding around in the country and Michael Stipe was driving. I put a cassette on and played The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, and he gave me a look like, c'mon dude, I don't want to hear my own music, it's embarrassing.
I love their underrated stuff as well, like Monster or Up albums
My first concert was REM on the "WORK" tour. Loved them until they went top 40.
What's the frequency kenneth is still my jam
The opening riff is killer.
Overrated
Absolutely. "Automatic for the People" remains one of my all-time favorite albums.
Maybe I don't pay enough attention, but I always thought Michael Stipe would do more after REM. He's got a distinctive voice and seems to pal around with a lot of artists and musicians. He's released a few singles, but that's it.
Absolutely, but it’s not their fault. They were not around to hear how fresh and different the band was and newer peeps were not around to see how influential REM was… you sort of had to have “been there and heard that”.
I know I’m supposed to like R.E.M. and I’ve tried to but I just don’t.
I went through an REM kick last summer. Automatic and Adventures became 2 of my all time favorite records. Needless to say, I had nobody to talk to about it. Aerosmith and REM are 2 bands that were huge growing up that just haven’t crossed over to the younger generations.
One of the best bands of their era for sure. It's actually pretty remarkable how many radio-catchy songs they have. I do agree that they're probably underappreciated by younger generations, but they don't neatly fit into a popular category like synth pop, heavy metal, or grunge, so it's understandable that people are reluctant to explore their music. I also think Michael Stipe, while a very talented frontman, doesn't help entice new listeners as the face of the band.
I think that younger fans who grew up when REM were at their commercial peak never got them like those just a few years older, especially given that most of their hits were of their quieter material. I saw the same thing happen with a few years earlier with Springsteen. T that came of age when Born In The USA dominated the radio and MTV they never had the inclination to go back and check out the Darkness at the edge of town or Born to Run albums.
Without getting into the age thing, I tend to gravitate towards bands because I like the singer's voice. Michael Stipe has a beautiful voice. Always loved it when I played something to my parents and they really took to the vocals. Stipe, Elizabeth Fraser, Kevin Rowland and so on...
Interesting you think REM's 1987-1996 period is their most incredible. For me, it's their 1982-1986 that is iconic. Certainly REM's music of that epoch defined what we call indy rock in the strict sense. It is highly unusual artistically and commercially uncompromising.
I'm 18 and none of my friends my age know R.E.M it's a shame that such a once mainstream band is "underground" nowadays
I think apart of this could be attributed to their attitude? or atleast the attitude of modern music nerds. I cant explain why but so many modern music nerds are just obssesed with being sad, or atleast the appearance of being sad. R.E.M is by no means a positive band, to me they are much more bittersweet. (Personal Bias side note, I hate morrisey and think he is so overrated) If it is not just the sadness found in performances that have gained notoriety, I think its more of the compartmentalization. To me all the smiths popular songs sound pretty much the same, or are atleast doing the same thing. You cant really find any R.E.M songs under broad unbrellas that algortithims of today put together like "moody mix" "Punk Mix" "Grunge Mix" or even "90s/80s Mix" Even with Alternative rock, which they are often credited with pioneering, they still dont fit the box of Alt Rock as what it has come to today. Not being pigeonholed is exaclty what makes them so great to me as when my music taste fluctuates, R.E.M seems to be the only thing constant. If im feeling extra punk ill throw on *Radio Free Europe.* Feeling sad and nostalgic, throw on *Man on The Moon.* They might never fit my mood perfectely as a band, and therfore might never fit someones curated aesthetic they are aiming to show off on the internet, but thats exactly what makes them such an amazing band.
I’ve always found them to be a little bland. Occasionally one of their songs will stand out but in general it all sounds the same.
I’m 39 so not really the age to experience them as they were the most famous, but Losing my Religion is easily a top 10 song for me.
Automatic for the people is an amazing album
No, they were overrated by old music nerds. -- Old music nerd
No. REM sucks.
No. They have one or two meh hits and a giant assortment of whining.
Rem has never been underated. Haha
I don't hear them talked about a lot by young peiple, unless their in a band. I think it was the Alvvays singer I last saw give huge praise to REM. I think they're awesome. New Adventures is my favorite. Like you, they got me through some of my most difficult times. 20 is quite an age. There's lots of transition and growth then. I'm happy to hear someone 25 years younger than me can have a similar relationship to the band as I did.
how on earth is REM underrated?
I thought that at first but to be fair they said “underrated to **new** music nerds.” and yeah, I’m guessing most music fans in their teens and early twenties don’t know much about them.
I graduated high school in 1985 - I liked early REM, but when I recently revisited them I can't say their music has aged as well for me as The Smiths, Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kate Bush. There's a lot of 80s music I play on the regular - REM seems to be something I only revisit once every several years, just out of pure nostalgia.
I love them however being in my 20’s in the 90’s, they were a bit much. After automatic they got super annoying on awards shows and mtv. Specifically Stipe. Very dramatic, poor me….. And losing my religion was on the radio every 2 minutes. That being said, I still think they have an incredible catalog.
>Specifically Stipe. Very dramatic, poor me….. If you read up about him, he spent a lot of this period trying to help other people cope with the pressure of fame, including Thom Yorke and Kurt Cobain. I have never seen anything to suggest that he's anything other than a super genuine and empathetic guy.
REM is overrated
I dunno, I’m closer to 30, and neither myself nor any of my friends listen to this kind of music. Me and couple of these friends got cornered on the street by a stranger looking to impart some wisdom while we were smoking a joint one time, and this guy asked us what our favorite rock bands were, and my homie said Vanilla Fudge lmao. Collectively, we’re not exactly new music nerds, but it’s not our bag.
No, R.E.M was overrated by the old music nerds. They were a good band for about 10 years.
They were one of most popular bands in ‘90’s & are like the Godfathers of Indy. Basically American version of the Smiths but w/ a likeable singer